Do other people’s moods affect you? Do you get stressed when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time? Do loud noises and strong smells bother you? Then you might be a highly sensitive person.

About twenty percent of people have a nervous system that makes them especially in tune with what’s happening around them. I’m one of the twenty percent—and it’s likely that you or someone you love is too.

When you’re asked, “Why are you so sensitive?” or told to toughen up it can seem like being an HSP is a struggle. But I believe it’s actually a superpower.

7 Amazing Strengths of a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

1) Relationships – HSPs make great friends, parents and partners. We’re aware of what’s going on in the hearts, minds and lives of those we care about most (sometimes even more than they are). We’re attentive and responsive to the needs of others.
2) Empathy – HSPs actually feel the emotions of others. This is beyond sympathy, which is more like pity. Because of this we’re gifted at making people feel truly heard and less alone.
3) Consideration – HSPs are highly in tune to how their actions impact others. We’re not going to be the ones cutting others off in traffic, talking loudly on our phones in a quiet coffee shop or having too many items in the express lane at the grocery store.
4) Intuition – HSP nervous systems are constantly taking in tons of information. Because of this we often “just know” things in ways that are hard to explain. When we’re making decisions this adds a deeper layer that can give us unusual discernment.
5) Courage – HSPs are tender and tough. Having a soft heart in a hard world is courage not weakness. Kindness is an act of bravery. Engaging with the emotions of others takes guts. Never, ever let someone tell you that being sensitive is being weak.
6) Living Fully – HSPs don’t go through life half asleep. We’re not phoning it in or doing the minimum. We’re engaged with the people around us, the places we’re in and the purpose we’ve been put on earth to complete.
7) Resilience – HSPs are deeply affected by everything from news headlines to heartbreaking news about a close friend. Keeping our hearts open is a battle because it would be so much easier and less exhausting to close ourselves off from everything. We get knocked down and keep getting back up. We’re not weak; we’re warriors.

Next Steps

If you want to know whether or not you or someone you love is an HSP, search for “Highly Sensitive Person Quiz” and take it online.

If you love, lead or share life with HSPs, will you remind us of our strengths today, especially if you haven’t understood them before? Your encouragement matters more to us than you know.

If you’re a Highly Sensitive Person, keep being who you are. Our cynical, bitter world needs you now more than ever. You are here for such a time as this.

Take time to work through the gift I send everyone who joins my (free) courageous community — 15 Minutes to Your Mission Statement: 4 Exercises to Help You Discover Your Personal Strengths and Direction

“Now that I’ve quit trying to be like everyone else, I’m enjoying new-found freedoms that have brought me contentment, peace, and unexpected joy.” – Cheri Gregory, HSP and founder of the site Sensitive and Strong (a great resource!)

Your sensitivity isn’t a struggle, it’s a superpower.

XOXO

Holley

p.s. If you liked this post you’ll love Episode 16 of More than Small Talk: Strong Women, Soft Hearts (available now on KLRC.com or your favorite podcast app.)

Hey there, I notice you and I’m paying attention. I’m listening so I can hear what you love. I want to do everything I can to help you embrace who you are and become all you’re created to be. So here’s a list of what you’ve said is most helpful…

In ten years of blogging no other post even comes close to being this loved. And, good news, I’m going to be writing a lot more for and about introverts! When I did a survey here I discovered about 75% of you are introverts—much higher than the percentage in the general population. I am too (INFJ). And even if you’re not an introvert, you likely love, lead or share life with one so the content will be helpful to you too. I believe being an introvert isn’t a struggle, it’s a superpower. Let’s find your cape. Never miss a post: Click here to subscribe.

Your Favorite Books

What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days
I got this for a friend who was going through a hard time and she loved it too. No matter what you’re going through this book is one you’ll keep and read often. I read through it twice and still pick it up when I’m facing a hard day. – Judith (Already read it? Try my newest devo: Hope Your Heart Needs)

You’re Already Amazing
I’m the leader of a bible study group of about 20 women (ages 20’s – 70’s) and we did this as a study. This was our first encounter with Holley Gerth and her books. This is a fantastic study for any age group of women who want to grow in their relationship with God by understanding His TRUTH, learning about who you are, God’s plan for your life, and discovering where and how you can serve in the Body of Christ/the Church. You will be amazed as you discover how amazing God made you! – Teri (You made this book a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Thank you!)

Fiercehearted
This book is, quite possibly, the most powerful book I’ve read. The impact on my life and thoughts has been monumental. I know I’ll reread this many, many times. – Marie

Your Favorite Graphic

What I Hope Will Be Your New Favorite

I’m launching a podcast called More than Small Talk with my dear friends and fellow writers Suzanne Eller and Jennifer Watson in partnership with KLRC. The first episode is already available! You can find it on KLRC or your favorite podcast app. Click on the following links for iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and TuneIn.

If you’re stressed or weary, worried or hurried today then this is an invitation for your soul…

I’ve been trying to begin a new habit of pausing for a few moments of silence before starting my day. After only thirty seconds my heart already feels like a racehorse at the gate, keyed up and impatient. The only words that seem to come to my mind are the to-do list waiting for me. The only feeling I can summon up is anxiety.

I thought, because I’m an introvert, this practice of a few moments of silence would be easy. But I’m finding this kind of time is more than an absence of noise, which I can handle and even welcome. Instead it’s an intentional choosing to be fully present to God. It’s about being quiet on the inside and this is much, much harder than turning down the volume on the television.

It’s very loud in my mind, you see. There are worries and fears, insecurities and uncertainties. I can generally calm this crowd of hecklers by doing something. But sitting in silence only makes them shout.

Yet as I stay on the edge of the bed it seems I begin to hear a deeper, clearer voice. Finally, this single phrase comes to the forefront of my mind: You are already loved.

Tears come to my mind because it is exactly what my soul needs to remember. Exactly.

I sit still and repeat it over and over.

No matter what you do or don’t do today…You are already loved.
No matter how you might fail or fall…You are already loved.
No matter what yesterday held or the future will bring…You are already loved.

I finish my few minutes of silence and take that phrase with me through the rest of the day. When something on my to-do list goes undone, when my plans turn to chaos, when I feel a bit weary I say it again: You are already loved.

What does your heart need to hear today? Would you like to join me in starting a habit of a few minutes of silence?

1 – Choose a time and place. I picked sitting on the edge of my bed for about five minutes before I get up for the day.

2 – All kinds of thoughts will race through your mind. That’s okay and just part of the process. As each one comes, release it to God.

3 – As your mind gets quieter, ask God to speak the truth your heart needs to hear. (Note: Most of the time this will be Scripture so if you don’t hear anything just reflect on a verse you love. If it’s not Scripture, then what you hear should still align with what the Bible says. For example, I heard “You are already loved” which is a theme throughout God’s Word.)

Emily P. Freeman said, “When we sit in silence we may not be doing anything but we are undoing so much.” I have made a habit of hurry, of hustling for love and approval. I want to undo it. Maybe you would like to join me?

We are invited into God’s arms today.
We have worth beyond what we do.We are already loved.

XOXO

Holley Gerth

p.s. If you want more peace in your heart and day, you’ll find it in Hope Your Heart Needs. This new devotional came out of quiet moments I spent with Jesus. Writing it changed my life and I believe reading it will change yours. I’m so excited to share it with you!

You’re invited to join the “Let’s Have Coffee” link-up! Simply write a post that has the kind of encouragement you’d share with a friend over coffee (the link-up goes live at 5:30am CT every Wednesday, and you can view the Link-Up Guidelines here). Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.

After you link-up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked just before yours. Thanks, friends!

I’m part of a panel at a women’s event and those of us on stage are asked, “Do you ever struggle with confidence? It looks like all of you have it all together.” I’ve been asked this before, told this before, and it still surprises and startles me. Because I can see my insides. I know my messes and my crazy, mistakes and stumbles, how I’ve wrestled with depression and anxiety like wild alligators, how my heart has the scars to prove it.

The woman who gets the microphone first is lovely and confident, outgoing and articulate. By the time it’s my turn my heart is pounding, I’m sweating and I feel like I have something in my nose (which always happens when I’m speaking in public). I tell the audience all this and they laugh with me, thankfully.

Then I also say what God has been putting on my heart, what has been saving me from myself, what has been making me stronger and bolder in ways that are catching me by surprise. I declare to this group of women and to my imperfect self, “What I’ve been realizing lately is this: The world tells us we need to have self-esteem but what we really need is holy confidence.”

For years I tried to prove I was enough. Perfect enough. Good enough. Experienced enough. Smart enough. Pretty enough. But it’s only when we come to the place where we can finally say, ‘I’m not enough but Jesus is’ that our hearts get free.

The reality is we will always fall short of the expectations of others and ourselves. But it doesn’t matter because our scandalous God, our gracious Savior, declares we are beloved and chosen and empowered anyway.

Self-esteem says we can do it.

Holy confidence says, in spite of us, God will.

In the moments when I’m insecure and afraid, when my heart is pounding, my hands are sweating and it feels like there’s something in my nose, that’s the Truth that I really need to know. Maybe, just maybe, I’m not the only one.

You’re invited to join the “Let’s Have Coffee” link up! Simply write a post that has the kind of encouragement you’d share with a friend over coffee and then add it here (the link up goes live at 5:30am CT every Wednesday). Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.

When you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!

Gift-giving is not my strong suit. I stand in the aisles of stores slack-jawed with my eyes glazed over. I don’t know how to choose between the Cranberry Cinnamon Scone candle or the Christmas Cookie one. I just get hungry and go home empty-handed. Or if I dare to pick one it turns out to actually smell like the poor old pumpkin that has been on the porch since Halloween.

I’m not only like this with gifts for other people; I’m the same way with myself. I need quiet and instead I say “yes” to one more event on the calendar. I desperately want peace and instead make a to-do list so long it rivals Santa’s. I long for joy and yet I tell myself the holidays need to be perfect until I’m gritting my teeth and stress-eating candy canes leftover from last year. Ever been there?

So I, quite audaciously, decided to pause and intentionally ask this question: “What gift am I going to give myself this Christmas?”

I already have pink fuzzy socks and flannel pajama pants with hearts on them so I settled on this: Permission to rest.

What does rest look like to me? It’s the little things: a nap, a cup of tea, a few moments sitting with my husband on the couch, a cozy blanket, a “no” instead of “yes” sometimes, leftovers for dinner. And, perhaps most of all, giving the critical voice inside my head the holiday season off. I’m sending her somewhere sunny like Florida or the Caribbean or Australia. Anywhere that’s far enough away that I can’t hear her. A one-way ticket, I hope.

I used to think “rest” was selfish, but then two things happened:

I read a whole lot of research that showed happier people are more giving, kind and generous.

And a friend said something to me that I’ll never forget: “Sometimes rest is an act of worship.”

Both of these makes good sense to me. So I’m picking “permission to rest” as a gift to myself because I know if I do then this gift will ultimately be passed on to the people I love and the Savior I serve and this weary world.

I may never be the best gift-giver, but I’m slowly learning. Maybe next year I’ll even be brave enough to venture back into the candle aisle.

What gift would you like to give yourself this Christmas? I’d love for you to share your answer by leaving a comment on this post. (Subscribers, to leave a comment please click here to visit the blog post.)

Right now, we’re doing a special link-up series to celebrate Fiercehearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely. You’re a fiercehearted woman so I’m asking you to pour out a little love and courage with your words every Wednesday {the link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post, especially if it’s about living fully and loving bravely, and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.

When you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!